NSERC PermafrostNet International Day of Permafrost

NSERC PermafrostNet invited the permafrost community to an online day of presentations and discussions highlighting the many organizations and projects around the world studying, monitoring, and addressing permafrost issues.

The International Day of Permafrost built on the session “Making new connections: International Partners” held during our 2020 AGM.

When was it?

The International Day of Permafrost was held virtually on Wednesday 1 March 2023.

Who was this online day for?

Anyone interested in the issues of climate change and permafrost.

What sort of sessions and activities were there?

The meeting featured a series of presentations introducing organizations and groups working on permafrost such as PERMOS, INTERACT and Permafrost Carbon Network (full list below). There were presentations on transnational projects and some discursive sessions on issues facing the permafrost research community around the world, coordinating research and data efforts, such as data sharing and interoperability between countries.

Participants discussed how we can maximize the many initiatives around the world to secure long-term sustainable support and funding for permafrost research, future shared infrastructure, and how we can work together to raise awareness of the issues caused by thawing permafrost and climate change. There was a varied and stimulating program of research presentations, interactive activities, and breakout sessions to promote networking and group discussions between members of the permafrost community.

The International Day of Permafrost was:

  • Informative – The event provides an opportunity for organizations working on permafrost to introduce themselves to a wider audience and engage with people new to the field or unfamiliar with their work. Attendees had the chance to ask questions and take part in breakout discussions with a wide variety of organizations.
  • Engaging – The event enabled the community to forge stronger connections and get to know each other through formal and informal online spaces.
  • Sharing – Transnational projects and international collaborations were showcased, enabling researchers to share the outcomes of their work and provide examples of effective ways of working together.
  • Discursive – The event provided attendees opportunities to get together and discuss a variety of issues of importance to the permafrost community.
  • Forward looking – The event provided a forum for the permafrost community to discuss their vision for future infrastructure, funding, and long-term sustainability of permafrost research.
What organizations were presenting?
l’Association canadienne du pergélisol (ACP)
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)
Swiss Permafrost Monitoring Network (PERMOS)
T-MOSAiC permafrost thaw Action Group
POLAR2E: College on Polar and Extreme Environments 
International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic (INTERACT)
Permafrost CCI+, GlobPermafrost
International Permafrost Association (IPA)
International Conference on Permafrost (ICOP)
Permafrost Carbon Network (PCN)
Consortium canadien pour l’interopérabilité des données sur l’Arctique (CCADI)
Permafrost Discovery Gateway
CryoSlideRisk
Permafrost Pathways
Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE)
GTN-P and Global Cryosphere Watch (WMO)
Prism-Arctic
Northumbria University and Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk
IPA Action Group: Towards an International Database of Geoelectrical Surveys on Permafrost (IDGSP)
Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS)
Adventure of Science
Permafrost Young Researchers Network (PYRN)

What questions were addressed in the discussion sessions?

  1. What are the big research questions, and what are the challenges in addressing them at the international scale?
  2. How can we improve data sharing and interoperability between countries?
  3. What future shared infrastructure is required by the permafrost community?
  4. What new long-term international partnerships do we need and how do we build them?
  5. What is needed from Canada to make international research initiatives more successful and what are international researchers contributing to Canada?
  6. How can we leverage the many initiatives around the world and raise awareness of permafrost issues?
Calendrier

Veuillez noter que toutes les heures sont indiquées en heure de l’Est (UTC-5).

Wednesday 1 March
8:30 - 9:00Zoom opens
9:00 - 9:15WelcomeKumari Karunaratne et Stephan Gruber
CPA and NSERC PermafrostNet

9:15 - 10:05Session 1IPA, Isabelle Gärtner-Roer

ICIMOD, Miriam Jackson

T-Mosaic, Julia Boike

Presentations & Questions
10:05 - 10:55Session 2INTERACT, Margareta Johansson

PERMOS, Cécile Pellet

Adventure of Science, Sabrina Muzafari

Presentations & Questions
10:55 - 11:35Discussion session 1
All Featured Discussion Questions

Break out groups, Mural
11:35 - 12:40Session 3ICOP, Lukas Arenson

Permafrost Discovery Gateway, Guido Grosse

CCADI, Peter Pulsifer

APECS

Presentations & Questions
12:40 - 13:10Lunch breakHosted by APECS, Speakers and NSERC PermafrostNet

SpatialChat
13:10 - 14:00Session 4ABoVE, Scott Goetz

POLAR2E, Gonçalo Vieira

GTN-P and Global Cryosphere Watch (WMO), Anna Irrgang

Presentations & Questions
14:00 - 14:40 Discussion session 2All Featured Discussion Questions

Break out groups, Mural
14:40 - 15:30Session 5IPA Action Group, Teddi Herring et Coline Mollaret

Northumbria University and Tuktoyaktuk, Michael Lim et Deva-Lynn Pokiak

Permafrost CCI+ and GlobPermafrost, Annett Bartsch

Presentations & Questions
15:30 - 16:10Discussion session 3All Featured Discussion Questions

Break out groups, Mural
16:10 - 17:15Session 6CryoSlideRisk, Tong Qiu

Prism-Arctic, Antoine Séjourné

Permafrost Pathways, Sue Natali

Permafrost Carbon Network, Ted Schurr

Presentations & Questions
17:15 - 17:30Wrap up/closing wordsStephan Gruber
PermafrostNet CRSNG

Where was it held?

The meeting took place on Zoom and SpatialChat. Visit the SpatialChat website to learn more about it.

Who was organizing this event?

The event was hosted by NSERC PermafrostNet.

Avec qui puis-je communiquer?

Si vous avez des questions, n’hésitez pas à nous envoyer un courriel à permafrostnet@carleton.ca

Image Credit

The cover image is a Dymaxion map showing land and subsea permafrost. The map was produced in 2020 as part of the Nunataryuk research project. Nunataryuk is an EU-funded Horizon 2020 project coordinated by the Alfred Wegener Institute in Potsdam, Germany. The image is shared under a creative commons license: www.grida.no/resources/13650. This photo has been graciously provided to be used in the GRID-Arendal resources library by: GRID-Arendal/Nunataryuk